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It is understood Channel 5 had accumulated the £69m in cash in four largely profitable years under Desmond, and he chose to pay that as a dividend to his parent company at the start of 2014 before selling the broadcaster.

Those close to Desmond’s company say he used the £69m dividend to fund other investments and working capital across Northern and Shell, rather than immediately taking out the cash for himself.

When Viacom bought Channel 5, the sale price was reported to be £450m, but accounts show that it actually received the slightly higher amount of £463m.